Dreams of Stars (A Once Upon a Time/Jiminy Cricket fanfic)

Dreams of Stars Part 29

The morning after their little house-party with Gus and Nova was on the weekend, so Kaelin didn't have any school to hurry off to. During breakfast, then, Jiminy offered, "I'm going to take Pongo out for a walk after this. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure!" Kaelin replied brightly. Mr. Gold's mansion could wait another hour as long as she focused and worked hard when she got there.

Jiminy let out a short laugh and glanced down with a smile. Then he lifted his chin and looked at Kaelin, still smiling. "You've been so cheerful since we met Gus last night," he observed.

Kaelin's smile vanished. "I promise we're only just friends," she began hurriedly, "I know we were both mice in the Enchanted Forest, but—"

"No—n-no, I-I didn't mean to imply anything," Jiminy interrupted, "I was just saying...it's nice. It's like you're...well, you're becoming happy again, Kaelin."

Kaelin was warmed by these words. "It's not as if I didn't have happiness before," she explained, "I did at times—sometimes even great happiness. But now, you're right, it's a bit different. It's like an old piece of me that I'd forgotten is returning. And, you know, Gus is just so easy to talk to, and he can be so funny. It's impossible not to be cheerful around him."

"I'm happy to hear that," Jiminy said. They finished breakfast, quickly washed the dishes, and then strapped the leash on Pongo. As soon as the leash was attached to him, he started pulling, immensely excited to be going outside. Kaelin held the door for Jiminy and the dog. Then she followed them out, closing the door behind her.

At times, Pongo would give Jiminy a little slack, running around just in front of him and sniffing every inch of ground they walked across. But then he would start pulling sideways, his claws scuffling on the sidewalk, completely oblivious to the fact that the collar was yanking on his neck. Jiminy held the leash with two hands to control him.

"Would you like to take him for a while?" Jiminy offered, holding out the leash to Kaelin as they neared the docking area.

"Do you want help?" Kaelin replied with a reluctant smile. She didn't actually want to walk the dog, but she guessed Jiminy was getting tired of it.

"No, I just thought you might want a turn," Jiminy responded quickly.

Kaelin didn't take the leash and felt bad about it, because maybe Jiminy actually did want her to take a turn and was just being polite. She opened her mouth to say, "I'll take him on the way back," but then she stopped, noticing that Jiminy was frowning, looking out ahead of them.

"What are all those people gathered around?" he said.

Kaelin looked and saw that a small crowd was beginning to form near the docking area. However, it wasn't an excited crowd. The people were silent, hanging back in clusters. Turning her gaze toward the center of the crowd, Kaelin recognized David, Red, and Granny gathered around...

"That's Gus's tow truck," she whispered, panic starting to rise in her chest. What was going on? She started walking toward the scene, but her walk soon changed to a run. As she came closer, she saw that Red's face was tearstained, and she looked hysterical. This made Kaelin even more afraid, and she ran faster. Yet before she made it to the tow truck, David caught her. "Everyone keep back!" he called, holding out his other arm.

But Kaelin had already seen Gus. He was lying face-up under the front of the truck. At first, it looked like he had just been run over. Maybe he's okay, Kaelin thought desperately, her heart pounding, Maybe he's only knocked out...Yes, David has just called an ambulance, and he wants people to make room for it...that's it...